Not Ready to Lose You
by carameltootsieroll
Summary: Luke Castellan is dying to ask the girl of his dreams out to prom. Half of him is positive that Thalia would say yes, them having been best friends for years. But half of him is worried that she'd be disgusted over his silly infatuation. Will Luke get to show her how much he cares? Or will he lose her forever to the curse of being seen only as a friend? AU LukexThalia Pjoshipweek


**A/N: _Hey guys! I'm back with another oneshot! You guys have probably heard of PJOShipWeek? Ah yes, I have to admit that I had no idea about it until liquifiedflames informed me! So here this is! An AU Thaluke fic for the first week of PJOShipWeek! I hope y'all enjoy this short fluff-filled story! _**

**Disclaimer: _I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All rights belong to the master troll that is Mr. Rick Riordan!_**

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Back and forth, back and forth. Luke huffed as the chilly wind whistled through his ears, penetrating the thin gray hoodie that he was wearing. Apparently, pacing back and forth in front of Thalia's house did little to calm his racing heart. It also didn't help him deal with the crisp autumn air that made his cold fingers feel numb.

He took a deep breath again and planted his feet firmly into the gravel of the sidewalk. "Okay," he told himself. "T-Thalia, w-will yo-you…" The next words caught-up in his throat and he gagged, sinking to the ground in frustration. Why was it so hard to get a few words out? What was seriously so difficult about asking Thalia Grace out to prom?

Luke had known Thalia since they were both kids. She had moved into the house beside his when they were both in sixth grade. Back then, Luke had been quite a troubled kid. His parents had just separated and he had felt a bit angry and lost. He still remembered the day Thalia had knocked on Luke's front door and started their friendship.

"_Hey! I'm Thalia Grace, your new neighbor," the dark-haired girl said once Luke had opened the door. She stood a few inches taller than Luke even if she seemed to be at around the same age that he was, which Luke immediately disliked. _

"_Hi," Luke replied blandly. He stuffed his hands inside his pocket awkwardly. The girl who had introduced herself as Thalia was still standing right in front of him. She smiled and shrugged, as if expecting Luke to do something. What was he supposed to do, though? He had opened the door, said hi to her…what more could this strange stranger still possibly want?_

"_Um…I think I better get going now," Luke began, clearing his throat and pressing his hand against the door. _

_The girl continued smiling. "Oh, alright. I guess I'll see you at the first day of school tomorrow, then?" she asked. _

_School, Luke thought. Boy, he wasn't in the mood for the first day of school. He nodded at the girl, avoiding her eyes as he shut the door in her face. He stormed up to his room and locked himself in. But instead of feeling bad about his parents' divorce, for the first time in many weeks, Luke found himself mulling over something else. Thalia Grace…Thalia Grace…_

_He could probably start over and make things work out with Thalia._

_And that was exactly what he did the next day. He spotted her among the thick crowd of sixth graders during lunch time. She had a wild look in her electric-blue eyes. Almost instantly, Luke felt that he knew what was going through Thalia's head. She probably felt lost. But unlike Luke's emotional sense of being lost, Thalia was physically lost in her new environment._

_Luke pushed his way through the throng of people. He tapped her shoulder and she spun around, her blue eyes wide as she stared at him. "You seem lost," Luke noted. "Need any help?"_

"_Oh..I…yeah," she muttered. "Do you know where the Science Laboratory is?"_

_Luke motioned for her to follow him as he weaved through the students once more. They came to a slightly less packed hallway and Luke slowed down, allowing his new-found companion to catch-up._

"_Hey, you're my new neighbour, aren't you?" Thalia asked as she came beside him. "I never got to catch your name."_

"_Luke, Luke Castellan. And I know that you're Thalia."_

_He stopped in-front of a translucent glass door and pushed it open for Thalia. "Here you go, the Science Lab."_

_Thalia walked in, her eyes focused on the beakers and test tubes inside the room. Luke almost felt his heart sink a little. She didn't seem as enthusiastic today as she had the other day. Maybe she wasn't interested in befriending Luke anymore._

_But just when Luke was ready to let the door fall close, Thalia spun around and kept it open with a little push. "Thanks, Luke," she said. A smile crawled on her face and Luke found himself returning that smile. He realized that it had been the first time he had smiled like that in weeks. _

"I've known you since forever, and yet I still can't ask you out to prom," Luke mused. He shook his head and ran his sweaty hand over his face. They had been through a lot together, that was true. He had asked her a million questions, a billion favors. _Thalia, I need help in math. Thalia, do you mind giving me a summary of the book we're reading for Literature class? Thalia, do you wanna walk the dog with me? Thalia, can you please give me some advice?_

He had asked her a trillion of weird and quirky questions, favors, advice. He had begged her for help countless of times. But prom…this was an entirely different thing for him. What if she was going with someone else? What if she said no? What if…what if… she didn't like him in the same way that he did?

Yes, okay, fine. He had a crush on her. Luke Castellan had a huge crush on Thalia. And that crush was _crushing _him. It had been crushing him for a couple of years now. His feelings were eating him, tearing him apart. He loved Thalia Grace, but he was absolutely terrified that she would never feel the same way about him.

_Plop, plop, plop._

"What the…?" Luke rubbed at his nose where water had just splashed on. He glanced up at the sky…oh great. Now it was raining. He stood up and pushed the hood of his jacket up and over his head. The rain was falling harder now, the wind was chillier. He looked over his shoulder, at Thalia's house, then turned to face the street again. He just had to cross the road and he would arrive at his house. It wasn't that far, but Luke's feet felt like they were glued to the ground. He still hadn't been able to accomplish what he was supposed to do. He still hadn't been able to ask Thalia Grace to prom.

"Next time," he told himself. _But what if there is no next time? What if I don't get a second chance like I did back in sixth grade? What if I lose Thalia…to someone else?_

"LUKE! LUUUKEEE!"

Luke jumped and spun around. Thalia was standing on her porch, her eyes wearing the same wild expression they had on the first day of sixth grade. "Luke, what the devil are you doing out in that storm?"

She jumped down from the porch, an umbrella in her right hand. Before Luke was even fully aware, she had pulled him in her living room and thrown a towel around him.

"Are you alright?" she asked him once they sheltered from the rain. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of piercing blue in the light of the room. Her ripped skinny jeans and leather jacket were soaked through and her short hair, damp from the rain, clung to her cheeks and forehead.

"I-I-uh…" Luke stammered. His tongue felt entangled in nervousness and the chill of the storm.

"How long have you been out there? It's freezing and the storm just came without warning," Thalia said. She reached out and pushed back Luke's hair from his face. Her fingers felt warm against his skin. "You could have caught your death of a cold out there…what were you doing? And please do speak up, you're scaring me!"

"I'm alright," he finally managed to say. "I honestly don't know how long I've been standing out there though."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Have you lost your mind? What do you mean you don't know how long you've been out there?"

"I haven't lost my mind…I just feel lost," Luke replied. He shrugged and smiled, realizing how vague that sentence must have sounded to the frantic Thalia.

Thalia narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "You're making no sense, Luke. Now I'm lost."

Luke sighed and forced himself to meet Thalia's eyes. "I don't know if you'll accept this, but Thalia…" his throat tightened. He swallowed and pushed himself. "Thalia Grace, will you go to prom with me?"

Thalia's eyes widened. For a scary moment, Luke thought that she would slap him on the face. But she threw her arms around him instead. "Luke, oh, you have _no_ idea how long I've waited for you to say those words! Heck, yes, I will go with you!" she pulled away, leaving her hands on his shoulders. "Wait a minute, is that all? I mean, you've been standing out there in the cold just to ask me to prom?"

Luke searched Thalia's face. He didn't understand. Why did she still seem disappointed? He recognized her expression. It was the same one she had worn on the day she had knocked on his door. She was waiting for something else.

"Well, I-I-I" Luke bit down hard on his tongue. He really had to stop stammering in-front of Thalia. "Th-there's something I've been wanting to admit, too."

Thalia pulled away from his gaze. Her face turned unreadable, save for the small smirk she kept on.

"I've had this huge…crush…on you. Thalia, I don't want to lose you."

Thalia's smirk faded and she turned back to him. Luke took hold of her hand and leaned forward. Their lips met and he closed his eyes. She tasted of cherry lip balm, sweet yet strong at the same time. And funny, she was sweet and strong at the same time, too.

"You're crazy," Thalia murmured against his lips and pulled away.

"I'm sorry -"

"No need to apologize," Thalia interrupted. "You know, all the while I thought that it was only me who felt this way. I've always wanted you to know...but I've always been too scared. I was scared that you'd find the idea sick. I was scared that you wouldn't want to keep being my friend. I was scared to lose you."

Luke squeezed Thalia's hand. Her fingers were thin and delicate in his', but he could feel the strength in her hands. She wasn't a fragile girl. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to admit," he said.

"I'm sorry too," she said and shrugged. "I'm just really glad to have you, you know?" She slid her hands around his neck and kissed him again. Luke's head seemed to spin, the world seemed to be fading away. But he decided that it was all fine. He had Thalia in his arms, anyway. He wasn't going to lose her; he wasn't going to lose her.

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**A/N:_ I hope you guys enjoyed that! Please click that review button and tell me what you think! :D_**


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